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Monday, February 8, 2010

The romance salad

The only reason I call this the romance salad is because it has a lot of red components to it and its Valentine's Day soon, and because I am in love with it!! I served this at my fancy pants dinner and it was a hit. This recipe is my own creation, however, I stole the pear and beet idea from a salad I had at a UVU dinner party. I tell ya' the culinary arts department at UVU is incredible! They do awesome work.

Ingredient list:

Romane lettuce

pickled beets (buy the best quality you can preferably in a jar, not a can)

hearts of palm (which are not pictured in the photo, it was a delicious after thought)

candied pecans or marcona almonds (which are the white, more round almonds you don't buy them candied you candy them yourself by putting them in a frying pan with a little butter and sugar)

Red pears

For the dressing:

1 shallot

1/3 c red wine vinegar

1/4 c sugar

2/3 c vegetable oil

1 t salt

For the dressing, I sauteed the shallot quickly in a little oil. Just to remove the raw taste (optional). Add the shallot, vinegar, salt, and sugar to the blender, and blend till smooth. Slowly add the oil.